Battle of Gemenon
Background While the Sovereign was docked at the station for ship rearmament and systems overhaul, Battlestar Groups 27 and 32 picked up numerous DRADIS contacts exiting FTL space near Gemenon at 01400 local colony time, prompting them to warn Gemenon ground command of the threat. Several Basestars, along with freighter/refuelers, appeared outside weapons range and each unleashed squadrons of Cylon Raiders. At the time of the attack, the Battlestar Truth was docked at the orbiting repair/refit station over Gemenon and thus vulnerable to attack (due to her old FTL drive malfunctioning). As the Translucent readies her superior batteries, her commander, Wade Parker, scrambled all Viper squadrons all four in response; deploying his support ships to shield the space station. With the commander of the Truth planet side, Executive Officer Miles Denkart assumed command and de-docked from the installation and readied her ship batteries, but was to late. The Cylons activated the backdoor in the Colonial Fleets Command Network Program and unleashed an electronic attack. By 01411, Translucent's entire Viper squadron is affected first and drifted helplessly in space. It is soon ripped apart by Cylon Raiders. As the support ships (destroyers and missile frigates alike) of both groups rallied in a massive salvo against the closing Cylon ships, the Basestars launched their own volley of missiles on them first, destroying most of the ships. The rest in turn are destroyed by Cylon Raiders as well. XO Denkart, cleared away from the station, sent a distress call for immediate reinforcements in the surrounding area of Gemenon and orders his Vipers to scramble as well. The message is intercepted shortly by Commander Sheppard of the Sovereign and immediately prepped the ship to de-dock and jump, sending his destroyers and frigates to quickly help. The Truth quickly linked up with the Translucent and attempted to jump away, but the Truth suffered another malfunction on its FTL drive. Commander Parker then ordered both battlestars to create a volley of flak to imitate a massive "shield" around them. The outnumbered Vipers from the Truth engaged Cylon fighters furiously, but are soon affected by the virus and are all destroyed momentarily. The support ships sent in by Commander Sheppard finally arrived at the other end of the battlefield, behind the basestars, sparking hope. Another salvo from one basestar is launched, however, this time five nuclear warheads. By 01420, the two remaining ships, the battlestars, attempted a "cut" maneuver (in order to escort the Truth) through the basestars to link up with BSG-14 and escape via speed. As the battle intensified and damage on both ships increased, the Truth's starboard flight deck is obliterated by one of the warheads and is thrown of course after receiving another near the "alligator" head. Commander Parker panics and authorizes an immediate jump, and does so without coordinates check. The heavily damaged battlestar, having listed to her starboard, and the support ships are soon rendered useless when they are completely shut down by the CNP virus. The Truth, abandoned, is shortly destroyed by yet another impacting warhead and the destroyers and frigates are destroyed by Cylon missile barrages. With the Colonial Fleet obliterated within 30 minutes (save for one ship, the Battlestar Translucent), consisting of BSG-27 and 32 and ships from BSG-14, the orbiting station is destroyed by missiles from passing Cylon Raiders heading towards the surface where the virus had launched Colonial Military nukes from ground bases all over Gemenon's major populations.